Page 75 of One Quick Obsession

He smiled, his shoulders finally relaxing.

“Okay. Let me tuck you in and maybe give you an orgasm. Just saying.”

I threw my head back and laughed, leaning into him. And so we walked hand in hand down to my home, and I let him tuck me in, gently kissing me until I felt safe, at home.

And when he walked away, I knew it wasn’t forever.

Because he allowed me to see part of himself he didn’t show others.

The world was dark, and sometimes felt like an unending twisted pain, but I wasn’t alone.

And I was finally starting to think he understood he wasn’t either.

I nuzzled into my pillow, knowing he would be back soon, and smiled.

When the hand slid over my mouth, I opened my eyes and tried to scream. And then another hand went around my throat, squeezing, and I kicked, shoving, but I couldn’t see his face.

I only heard that deep laugh, and I knew who it was. When he dragged me out of my room, and I tried to scream, tried to reach for the edge of the door so he wouldn’t take me away, I only hoped that Hudson would hear.

“Don’t you dare, you bitch,” Ronin whispered into my ear as he pressed the gun to my side, and I quieted, wondering if Hudson would know I was gone. But I had to believe. I had to trust.

But I was so afraid that Hudson would be the one hurt in the end.

And so I let Ronin drag me away, even as my heart leapt in my throat and tears slid down my cheeks.

And Hudson’s name was the last thing I thought of before Ronin knocked me out, and there was nothing.

Chapter Seventeen

Hudson

The pounding on the door echoed throughout my house, and growling, I stomped my way towards the front. When I swung open my front door, Flynn pushed his way inside.

“Well hello to you. I didn’t realize you were in town this late. What the fuck’s going on?” Alarm shot through me, and I pulled at his arm. “Are you okay? Is something wrong? Is it Blakely and the baby?”

I was already emotionally drained from my day, and hell, all I wanted to do was lay near Scarlett and get through the rest of the day, telling myself everything was okay, I had to remember... I couldn’t help but think of the fact that my family was growing leaps and bounds day by day. How the hell was I supposed to even function when there were so many around me that cared. They wanted me in their lives, and worried about me just as I worried about them. For somebody who had done their best to be a hermit and not be on the minds of everybody around them, I certainly failed at actually succeeding in that.

“What? No. She’s fine. I’m here because I’m pissed off about something, but it has nothing to do with Blakely.” He glared at me. “Should I be worried about Blakely and the baby? Let’s call Aston now. Because what the fuck?”

“No, no.” I ran my hands over my face, trying to catch my breath and frankly, trying to just catch the fuck up.

“I don’t know why the hell you’re here, storming in like that. I thought something was wrong with somebody. And since Blakely’s pregnant, she’s the first person that came to mind.”

“I think she’s fine. I haven’t heard otherwise. But now I’m worried, so let’s call.”

I held up my hand and tried to focus.

“No, we’re good. You’re good. I’m just losing my fucking mind. Why are you here?”

“I was at the restaurant, dropping off a few things for Theo because apparently I’m now an errand boy for the family.”

“Only now?” I teased, trying to feel lighter than I did. My heart ached, and I knew I just needed to get over to Scarlett’s. Letting her go to sleep alone was a damn mistake. So what if I needed to focus and maybe just paint? I could do that near her. I didn’t have to leave her alone when we were both emotionally bruised from our talk. But I could still see Michelle’s brother’s face as he laid into me, screaming at me.

It didn’t matter that I hadn’t been the one to kill her, I hadn’t been the one to save her.

And yet I hadn’t been able to lean on Scarlett the way that she’d needed me to.

“Anyway, Luna was there, and she got a weird call from Scarlett, saying that she needed to talk to her tomorrow, for sister time or some shit, so Luna got worried, yelled at me, so now I’m here to yell at you.”